The Croatian suspects picked up their passengers in Croatia and transported them to Slovenia, where four Slovenian citizens took over to bring them across the border into Italy.
They charged between EUR 2,500 and EUR 3,000 to Kosovars, around EUR 6,000 to Turkish citizens and EUR 10,000 to Chinese citizens.
The group made illegal gains of about EUR 200,000. The head of the Slovenian group got between EUR 400 and EUR 1,000 per ride, while drivers made EUR 100 per person per ride, the Koper police said in a press release on Wednesday.
The three Slovenians were arrested by the Slovenian police. All three men are being charged with people smuggling, but only two have been detained, the police said.
While the investigation was ongoing, the 27-year-old also caused a car accident and fled the scene without having helped the other person involved who had been injured.
